Horizon MiniPak personal fuel cell charger hits shelves for $100
By Laura June 
posted June 16th 2010 1:43PM
posted June 16th 2010 1:43PM
We first laid our eyes and hands on Horizon's MiniPak personal fuel cell charger back at CES and now it's finally available for purchase. Designed for charging portable electronics on the go, the MiniPak has two refillable cartridges, each with the juice equivalent of around 1,000 AA batteries. The MiniPak -- which uses Hydrogen to produce electricity -- isn't the first portable fuel cell, but it's certainly the cheapest. Check out our demo video from CES 2010 after the break. You can hit the source link if you're looking for a $99 fuel cell for your very own.
Forreal?
Yeah, furreal
@questionexclamation
If they named it "Horizon," they failed.
@fowenati
What is "Hydrogento"?
....oh it's "Hydrogen to"...lol
j/k
@BMills
Isn't something similar to this the same thing that will power the Terminators?
Uh Oh.....
@questionexclamation
Wow ITS NOT FORREAL. The video says 7-8 AA batteries. Not 1000. FREAKIN RIDICULOUS ENGADGET.
@j3oomerang Maybe not, the site has gone Event Horizon. Completely missing.....
@questionexclamation
Yea, forreal, forreal!
@questionexclamation
I bet they will correct it without an edit note and new visitors will think we are going mad in the comments
@questionexclamation So 8 Hydrostik cells can be charged from 0%-100% in an hour each, stored long term w/ no energy loss, and provide as much power 56-64 AA batteries?
@questionexclamation
Maybe the difference is that between ACTUAL engergy vs USABLE energy. Its like saying a galon of gasoline should be able to motivate a car 300 miles, but with our inefficient systems we can only get 1/10th of that.
But yes, damn your lies engadget.
@j3oomerang
How can you honestly say that they fail. No matter how shitty the name, it's an amazing product. I'm buying one.
WANTWANTWANTWANTWANT
I want a 100 of them to power my car. And 500 for my house. And 2 for my mobile phone and laptop.
@lnm4444 Your 250W (1/3 HP) car will be a force to be reckoned with!
Check that output. It looked to me like it only output 3 watts. I don't think that would charge an ipad, let alone a laptop.
@jonbruc It is a USB charger... if the iPad conformed to the USB spec... you would probably be able to charge it, but it does not, so you probably can't.
It isn't supposed to charge a laptop.
It looks like it comes with the charger dohicky, so that's cool.
@jonbruc
Yep only 2.5 watts. Fuel cells scale by their power. That means if for example you want 2x the power, you need 2x the fuel cells. Also 2.5W is common for a lot of USB chargers.
Each Hydrostik cartridge (12Wh) is equivalent to a high capacity 2900-3000mah 18650 laptop cell which costs about $15 on Ebay for a brand name one. However, finding a charger that can use 18650 cells isn't that easy, but it is likely cheaper than any other option. Here's a discussion on this:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=252259
Here's a comparison of different options:
Horizon MiniPak
Capacity: 24Wh
Power: 2.5W
Cost: $100
Needs separate HydroFill system ($600!? from a Jan 2010 review) with water to refill the 2 HydroStiks in the system.
http://onlygizmos.com/hydrofill-gives-you-a-green-way-to-charge-your-gadgets/2010/01/
Sanyo eneloop Mobile USB Booster
Capacity: 19Wh (3.7V-5000mah)
Power: 2.5W
Cost: ~$50 new on Amazon
Brand Name Li-ion based USB mobile charger. Recharge the pack using the same system, no separate refiller.
Non-brand name Bix-Power 5V chargers
Capacity: 12.5Wh-170Wh
Power: 2.5W (5V/500mA) - 90W (19V/~6A)
Cost: $50-250
Just some site I found googling mobile USB battery packs. There are the USB chargers and also chargers that can charge full laptops. All of them seem to provide multiple connector options with the charger.
http://www.bixnet.com/5v7libapa.html
Just some consumer advice so people know there other cheaper, more flexible options out there.
@jakey
Looking on their website, it says the MiniPak includes the refiller, which is better than what I posted above. Too bad their website seems to be messed up right now, so I can't tell the actual details.
@jakey
Em, no
The refiller is not included... From their website...
"a home refueling sytem (sic) called "HydroFILL" - sold as a separate accessory for added convenience. "
Correction: 2.5 watts.
"Devices compatible with the MiniPAK include cellphones, but also smartphones, gaming devices, GPS handhelds, small lighting devices and MP3 players."
@jonbruc USB spec is 0.5A@5V 5V*0.5A=2.5W...
Once again. It is a USB charger. It will charge devices that conform to the USB spec.
I was able to score a white iPhone yesterday
@Mr Good Kat
I just had a Thai curry...what's your point?
@Mr Good Kat That's interesting. I bought a Vacheron Costandin Historique Ultra-fine 1955 watch on Monday. Does less than an iPhone but you will never need to replace it.
@lnm4444
an iphone can't do much more ;-)
@Mr Good Kat
I'm sorry to hear that.
@Mr Good Kat
My cat's breath smells like cat food
says in the description "each with the juice equivalent of around 1,000 AA batteries." then in the video it says equivalent to about 7 or 8 AA batteries?????
@eliite
yeah, I caught that comment too. So which is it? Kinda matters!
@eliite I noticed this too - I'm more inclined to believe the "7 or 8" figure!
@eliite
On the actual website it says
"It's the first fuel cell product to compete on cost with both disposable and rechargeable batteries with just one refillable cartridge supplying as much power over its life as 1000 disposable AA alkaline batteries. Completing the fairytale sustainability pitch, it's also 100% recyclable, uses no heavy metals and there are no toxic liquids involved."
yeah, engadget can you figure this out for us, cuz uhh...thats kind of a big difference...
from GizMag
"It's the first fuel cell product to compete on cost with both disposable and rechargeable batteries with just one refillable cartridge supplying as much power over its life as 1000 disposable AA alkaline batteries"
Err, pass.
@EGamerHDK ah that makes sense,
thanks
@eliite
I'm not a battery guy but I took it to mean that:
1. You charge it for an hour. With that hour charge you get the equivalent charging duration of 7 or 8 AA batteries.
2. You can recharge this thing over and over again until you reach approximately the same usage as 1000 batteries (approx 220 charges) per cartridge.
The real question is how much energy you draw per charge and how does that compare to recharging 7 or 8 AA batteries.
@bjsguess
Oops - mean 120 charges.
@bjsguess It should end up at least a wash. If these don't use any heavy metals and the cartridges are completely reusable, they soundly beat rechargeables there.
Like you said, the only real question is the efficiency of the electrolysis and sequestering process and the efficiency of the fuel cell.
That said, I don't think it would be that difficult to match batteries in efficiency.
Can I bring it on an airplane?
@bjsguess Sanyo's second-gen Eneloops are rated at 1500 recharge cycles per battery, and 8 of them costs a heck of a lot less than $100.
I put 4 of them in a USB charger (I use a Tekkeon MP1550) and an extra spare 4 batteries in a battery case, and I love it.
@Guspaz
I use Eneloops as well. Haven't gone through a 1000 cycles yet but they are rock solid years after purchasing. Absolutely love them.
I'm all for helping the environment but it has to make economic sense. It's pretty simple right? How much electricity would it cost to charge 8 Eneloops vs the hour it takes to charge the cartridge. If it's roughly equivalent then they might have won me over.
@bjsguess So what exactly is it that fails after 1000 hours of use?
@bjsguess The web site for the product claims that it takes an hour to charge one cartridge, and that the charger runs at 60 WH. So about 60 watts go in and 12 Watts come out. Seems very inefficient. Hooked to a PV panel and the cost probably goes higher initially until the PV panel pays for itself.
They're using Hyrdogento no wonder the power output is so small
@sevenVIIghosts
they should try hydrogen..
@samisax
woosh
@weirdo557
woosh.. forreal
Now I can really go for days and days without having to worry about the battery life on my EVO. Not that that is real worry for me anyway. Been unplugged now for 6 1/2 hours with almost constant use and the battery is still at 72%.
Hold up- you say 1,000 AA batteries they guy in the video said 7-8. thats a HUGE difference.
@Jamesky 7-8 *per charge* 1000 over the life of the cartridge.
This would come in very handy for keeping in my motorcycle should my phone ever die. I used to have a little Energizer branded USB charger that ran on AAs, but it just wasn't enough, and I no longer have it
Hopefully they add some more details to the page, and more than one picture. As soon as they do, I'm all over it